Sensory Analysis – R&D Intern

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

At Marou Faiseurs de Chocolat, our mission is to craft high-quality, bean-to-bar chocolate that celebrates Vietnam's rich cacao heritage while supporting local farmers and sustainable practices.

The R&D department plays a key role in this mission by developing innovative products, refining recipes, and improving processes to ensure exceptional taste, quality, and consistency. As an R&D Intern, you will support experimentation, product testing, and continuous improvement initiatives that bring new ideas from concept to finished chocolate bars.

ROLE PURPOSE

This internship aims to provide hands-on experience in sensory analysis applied to food product development, with a focus on chocolate and cocoa-based products.

The intern will support the development of structured sensory evaluation methods to ensure product consistency, support new ingredient validation, and compare alternative cocoa origins while maintaining target sensory profiles.

KEY RESPONSIBILITY

Sensory Panel Support & Training

• Support the training of the factory quality sensory panel
• Assist with basic sensory calibration and alignment sessions
• Help prepare simple sensory training materials

Bean-to-Liquid Sensory Evaluations

• Support weekly Bean-to-Liquid meetings (R&D, Quality, Production, Supply Chain)
• Prepare samples according to defined recipes
• Prepare and standardize sensory questionnaires
• Organize tasting sessions and collect sensory data
• Perform basic data analysis and sensory interpretation
• Update weekly tracking tables

Standardization & SOP Development

• Contribute to the standardization of sensory questionnaires
• Update sensory SOPs (sample preparation, tasting conditions, data collection)
• Help structure sensory data recording templates

Ingredient & Batch Sensory Validation

• Conduct sensory evaluations of:

+ New ingredient suppliers or new lots

+ Random production batches

+ Retention room samples

+ Collect, analyse, and interpret sensory data

+ Maintain longitudinal sensory tracking tables

Product Benchmarking

• Support sensory benchmarking of internal products and competitors
• Compare sensory profiles and overall liking
• Contribute to comparative analysis reports

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS

• Senior Student in Food Technology, Food Science, Biotechnology, or related engineering field.
• Interest in sensory analysis and food products
• Basic knowledge of Excel, Immediate – Good communication in English.
• Methodical, curious, and detail-oriented
• Able to work in a cross-functional environment
• Able to intern full-time in 2 months: April & May (Monday - Friday)

PREFERABLE REQUIREMENTS

• Have a proactive learning attitude, followership & good cooperation.
• Creativity, can work on multiple projects
• Careful, Integrity
• Strong sense of responsibility
• Well-regulated and passion creation

BENEFITS/ LEARNING OUTCOME:

• Applied sensory analysis in an industrial context
• Data-driven product evaluation
• Understanding of cocoa and chocolate processing
• Exposure to product development and quality systems
• Contribution to real product decisions

Internship allowance: 4M/ month + Meal allowance

Working location: Lot D2, Road No.3, Binh Chieu Industrial Park, Thu Duc City, HCMC.